Natalie Dygert

Founded in 2001 by Mark Bergendahl and Bradley Wilhite, Ascendiant Securities LLC is an SEC-registered broker/dealer headquartered in Irvine, California. The firm advises on and facilitates debt and equity securities offerings through private placements and provides assistance with mergers and acquisitions. They are a member of FINRA and the SIPC. Ascendiant Securities is affiliated with Ascendiant Capital Markets LLC, a full-service investment banking firm, SEC-registered broker/dealer, equity research, market making and securities trading firm that focuses on small-cap and micro-cap public companies, as well as institutional and accredited investors. They are a member of FINRA and the SIPC. Ascendiant Securities is also affiliated with Ascendiant Capital Group LLC and Ascendiant Capital Partners LLC, firms that makes direct investments in publicly-traded, emerging growth companies and in private companies that are going public.

University of Southern California is a private research university that mainly offers undergraduate, graduate & other higher education. The university was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA.

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. engages in the provision of insurance, annuities, and employee benefits programs. It operates through the US, and MetLife Holdings segments. The company is headquartered in New York, NY.

Guardian Alliance Technologies, Inc. provides background investigation services. The company was founded by Justin Biedinger, Jared Foster, and Steve Airola and is headquartered in Stockton, CA.

PracticeXpert, Inc. provides management services and technology solutions to medical practitioners to improve operational efficiencies. The company offers medical billing, accounts receivable management, practice management, consulting, seminars, practice management software, electric medical records software and related services. PracticeXpert was founded on July 13, 1984 and is headquartered in Calabasas, CA.

Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. provides security brokerage services. It also offers investment banking and advice to high net worth investors, individuals, businesses and institutions. The company is headquartered in New York, NY.

Founded in 1986, Merriman Capital, Inc. is an SEC-registered broker/dealer and investment banking firm headquartered in San Francisco. The firm is a subsidiary of Merriman Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MERR), a financial services firm that focuses on fast-growing companies and their institutional investors. Merriman provides advisory and investment banking, equity research, institutional services, corporate services and venture services primarily to corporate clients. Merriman Capital provides research, brokerage and trading services primarily to institutional clients. The firm offers a full range of specialized and integrated services including: equity research, specialized trade execution, equity capital markets, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, sales and trading, market making, corporate and venture services, restructurings and strategic advisory services. Merriman Capital employs bottom-up, fundamental analysis of small-cap companies in select industries including clean technology, healthcare, technology and consumer/Internet/media. The firm also has expertise in emerging markets, with emphasis on emerging markets in China. Merriman Capital is known to engage in shareholder activist investment strategies. Merriman Capital is a member of the NASD, the SIPC and FINRA. The firm serves as an introducing broker/dealer for Pershing LLC. They do not hold or maintain funds or securities or provide clearing services for other broker/dealers.

Ascendiant Capital Markets LLC is a registered broker-dealer headquartered in Irvine, California. The firm is a subsidiary of Ascendiant Capital Partners LLC, which is owned by Ascendiant Capital Group LLC. Ascendiant Capital Markets was founded in 2010 and advises on and facilitates debt and equity securities offerings through private placements and provides assistance with mergers and acquisitions. The firm focuses on public and private growth companies, and institutional, accredited, and strategic investors.